Health Alliance International has joined more than 500 organizations and academics from 87 countries calling on the IMF to stop promoting austerity and instead support policies that advance gender justice, reduce inequality, and put people and planet first.

The IMF has already begun locking some countries into long term austerity-conditioned loans, while encouraging countries to take such recovery measures through its short-term, front loaded emergency financing packages. Such policies will further entrench gender and economic inequality and undermine any chance of an inclusive recovery, especially as many countries in the Global South are expected to need more long-term financing in the near future

Since our early beginnings, HAI has been an outspoken advocate against austerity, drawing attention to the impact that neoliberal economic principles can play on reducing health workforce, health care access, and the ability for countries to respond to public health crises.  In 2015, HAI’s James Pfeiffer and Julia Robinson penned an op-ed for the Bretton Woods Project focused on the IMF’s role in the Ebola outbreak and the long-term consequences of structural adjustment.

This new, global statement comes ahead of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings slated to begin next week (12-18 October)

Read the full statement below.